Draconis 10/10
Title: Draconis chapter 10/10
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Chapter Rating: NC-17
Summary: Jared's a prince who always does what's expected of him, even as he dreams of following his heart. When his father signs an allegiance with a dragon clan and he meets Jensen, everything changes.
Disclaimer: Neither of these beautiful men are mine. I just play with them sometimes.
Author's Notes: I'm sad to see this story end, but I do plan on making another dragon story as soon as I catch up with some of my others. ;) Thanks to everyone who stuck with me!
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine
(Awesome banner made for me by the talented Mystik-Ivanow)
Jared jumped in surprise as a hand landed on his shoulder and turned to face an amused grin.
“Spying on the princess’s date, highness?” the dark-haired man asked mischievously. “I’m shocked.”
Jared smiled sheepishly. “I’m just doing my brotherly duty, Sir Collins.”
Misha laughed and squeezed Jared’s shoulder, keeping his touch there as both their attention turned back to Megan and her suitor. The young couple-to-be was strolling through the blossoming garden, carefully avoiding the patches of dirt where the grass had refused to grow back after being smashed by boulders and toasted with fire.
Even after five years, some scars just couldn’t heal.
Megan blushed as her suitor took her hand and lifted it to his lips to kiss her fingers. As described in his older brother duties, Jared wanted to barge in and break them apart but Misha’s hand kept him grounded.
He’d just give her suitor, a young man named Thomas Dekker, the standard “you hurt my sister and I’ll kick your ass” threat later.
Jared stood up from where he’d been crouched behind a bush as the couple moved out of sight, and turned to face his companion.
“You don’t think that was creepy, do you?”
“What, you hiding in the hedge?” Misha grinned at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Not at all. I’m an older brother too, I know how it goes.”
“So if something happens you’ll help me hide the body, then?”
“I’ll even give you a solid alibi.”
They walked together to the courtyard, watching people weave around each other as they set up for the annual festival. Ever since the brief but destructive war with the dragons, Jeff had changed the yearly ball into an outdoor celebration that everyone, from the castle and village alike, were allowed to attend.
Genevieve looked especially excited, tying ribbons to the large pole at the middle of the yard. She and Samantha were like mother and daughter now; Jared figured something maternally bonding must have happened between them as or after they’d escaped the castle during the dragon attack.
He was just glad to see they’d both survived, as many guests and staff had not been so lucky; either crushed by falling stones or by the horrific fires that had broken out.
Breathing in deeply the scents of delicious foods that wafted out the open kitchen window, Jared smiled as he thought of the festival. He loved listening to the music and the children’s laughter as they ran around with the ribbons and toys. He liked the dancing and drinking and eating. It was less stuffy than the ballroom dances he’d suffered through growing up.
Everyone could dress as they liked instead of having to look like perfect dolls.
It was also easier to forget about certain things during the festivities. Such as the fact that while the rest of his family grew older as humans were supposed to, Jared remained physically unchanged.
It was also easier to forget the fact that for the last five years, Jensen had not returned.
Countless hours were spent on the balcony outside his bedroom, day and night, as he desperately listened for the sound of wings and watching for anything in the sky.
All the while pretending not to notice his family’s concerned looks as he appreciated the fact that they never tried to talk him out of his vigils. After everything that had happened, they knew how important Jensen was to him.
Now he couldn’t help but wonder, even after Jensen had saved his life, if his feelings had fallen one-sided over time. Jared hated himself for thinking that way, especially since he had no way of knowing if something had happened to the dragon clan. All he had to go by was a strong feeling inside of him that told him that they were doing alright.
Maybe Jensen had decided that Danneel would make a good mate after all and that a relationship with a human was just too complicated.
After all they’d been through, Jared didn’t want to believe that but as much as he tried he couldn’t come up with any other explanation.
As time wore on, he spent less hours on his balcony and more time with his family as they helped rebuild the castle and village, buried the dead, and celebrated new life.
Like the birth of his nephew and the future king, Tobias Padalecki.
The birthing had been hard on Sandy, and Jared remembered how he, his father and brother had waited outside Jeff’s bedroom door with bated breath as the women of the family along with one of the kingdom’s midwives helped her through her screams and cries.
Jared had jumped every time Sandy’s pained voice pierced through the heavy wood of the door, mentally thanking God again and again that he would never have to suffer the pain of bringing an infant into the world because it sounded like his childhood friend was being ripped apart.
At the first sound of a baby’s crying, the three men had leapt to their feet and almost fell over each other in the haste to see.
Tobias (or Toby) Padalecki was born healthy and beautiful with all ten fingers and toes, and now at three years old was a real handful. He had the patented Padalecki energy and contained the power to drive someone crazy one minute then instantly calm them down with a dimpled smile the next.
“Your nephew’s going to run himself right into a nap this year,” Misha spoke Jared’s thoughts amusedly.
He could still remember well the day he’d met Misha Collins. He’d come from a neighboring kingdom to join Jeff’s knights almost two and a half years prior and instantly they found a platonic bond. Misha was worldly and handsome and kind and funny, and Jared desperately wished that he could fall in love with him instead.
“Would you like to go to the festival with me?” Jared asked, startling both of them. He didn’t know where the question had come from but he knew he didn’t want to take it back.
“You mean as an official date?”
Jared nodded, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
Five years was an awfully long time; perhaps he should think about moving on and finding happiness with someone else.
Someone like Misha.
His friend studied him for a moment. Misha knew all about what had happened with Jensen. Finally he smiled a little, though his expression was still unsure. “I think that would be okay.”
Jared’s face lit up in a large grin. “Great!”
<>***<>***<>***<>
“You really should be resting,” Jeff pointed out as he sat down beside Sandy at one of the tables.
Her eyes rolled as she dragged a hand over her swollen belly. “Honey, really. This is my second pregnancy, I don’t need as much rest. Besides the whole family gets to be here and I want to be, too. I want to see Toby playing with the other children.”
Jeff sighed but nodded. He knew better than to argue. Loud, boisterous laughter caught his attention and immediately his eyes sought out his little brother.
For a while the family been worried that the prince would never smile again, having fallen into a deep depression after it became obvious Jensen wasn’t in a hurry to return.
As much as Jeff had come to understand and respect the dragons, the protective older brother in him was angry that Jensen had hurt his sibling like that. Intentional or no. But his rational side told him that perhaps Jensen was simply unable to return, and Jeff desperately hoped that was the reason although he wanted nothing to be terribly wrong with the dragons. The whole thing was confusing.
But Jensen’s reaction to Jared’s death was proof enough of how much he cared. So there had to be a logical explanation.
Jared’s smile had returned when he’d met Misha, and so the knight had a special place in Jeff’s court. Anyone who could cheer his brother up deserved recognition in the king’s eyes.
“He seems so happy, doesn’t he?” Sandy remarked, watching Misha chase a giggling Jared in a circle around Megan and Thomas Dekker.
“Get him, Misha!” Megan and Thomas cheered the knight on in between their laughter.
“Traitors--!” Jared accusation broke off in a startled, mouse-like squeak as he was knocked to the ground.
The two men wrestled, ignoring the spectacle they were making for those around them who had stopped to watch.
“Give it!” Misha growled, sitting on Jared’s hips as he tried in vain to catch the prince’s flailing hands.
“No! It’s mine!”
“Missouri gave it to me, Jared!”
“But I like it!”
“All that fuss over a piece of candy,” Gerald said, sounding confused.
“Pine Nut Candy is Missouri’s specialty, darling,” Sharon patted his arm. “Besides you know how our Jared is with treats.”
“Good thing the boy has my genes or else he’d be as fat as a favored donkey.”
“So that would make him an ass?” Jeff asked innocently, then grunted as Sandy elbowed him in the stomach.
A strong gust of wind blew over them, sending ribbons and cloth napkins flying while messing hairdos as two large shapes descended from the sky.
Jared and Misha quickly rose to their feet, Misha popping the rescued sweet into his mouth as two dragons landed on the edge of the festival grounds.
Jeff immediately walked over with his parents to greet the new guests as the creatures transformed into their human bodies, a small green dragon cradled in Jensen’s arms.
“I was hoping you’d come.”
Chris tilted his head in greeting. “We only recently received your message. Jeffrey Dean sends his regards for his lack of attendance but he’s taking care of clan business.”
“Of course,” the king replied with a smile. “I understand. The festival is still in full swing so why don’t you join us, and when it’s over we’ll retire to the throne room and discuss the treaty.”
“Jeff?” Jared wandered over with Misha. His eyes flicked between the three dragons then back to this brother. “What’s this about?”
“We’re trying again to gain peace between us and the dragon clan, Jared,” the older Padalecki male told him patiently. “So I sent word to the dragons over a fortnight ago.”
“Messages, especially from humans, are still hard to receive in Draconis,” Jensen said. “Despite all the progress made so far.”
“I’m hoping to change that.”
“As are we.”
Jensen wouldn’t even look at Jared, his eyes trained solely on Jeff. Swallowing back bitter disappointment, Jared turned and walked away trying to ignore the weight of several sets of eyes on his back.
Not even paying attention to where he was going, Jared wasn’t surprised when his feet brought him to the balcony of his bedroom. He sat down on the bench his father had the castle staff place there once Jared had started his nightly vigils and closed his eyes to listen to the sounds of the festival.
His eyes snapped open again not long later as the green baby dragon climbed onto his lap, releasing happy little chirps like a bird.
Jared glided his fingers over the scales and wings, noting that the baby had not grown much since it’s hatching. But remembering Jensen’s look versus his age, he knew that dragons grew much slower than humans. Still, Jared could clearly feel the strong muscles beneath the baby’s skin and in it’s wings.
“His name is Ben,” Jensen said, casually leaning his shoulder against the frame of the open doors. “Meant to tell you that.”
Jared nodded but otherwise ignored Jensen, his eyes remaining trained on the baby.
“He missed you. When Chris and I left to come here he followed, but his wings aren’t quite strong enough for the long journey so I had to carry him.”
“I missed him, too.”
“Jared--”
“What’re you doing here, Jensen?”
The older brunet blinked at him, having the audacity to look surprised by the question. “Your brother invited us to--”
“No. I mean what are you doing here, in my bedroom? If Ben wanted to see me Chris could have brought him up.”
“I wanted to see you.”
Jared snorted. “Liar.”
Jensen straightened and moved like he was going to walk onto the balcony, but Jared hastily stood and shoved passed him.
“I don’t want you here.”
“You don’t mean that.” Jensen caught Jared’s arm, holding on tight as he tried to pull away. “What’s wrong with you? I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Jared demanded, his cheeks reddening as he glared daggers at his exlover. “You honestly think I’d be happy to see you after five damn years? Five years and waiting and worrying and pain and hurt and disappointment and anxiety. What did you expect me to do, Jensen? Fall to my knees and kiss your hand? Roll onto my back for you and spread my legs?”
Jensen shook his head, finally releasing Jared after the younger man continued to pull. “No! You don’t understand. I wanted to come back, but my clan had to put our lives back together and I was needed. What did you expect me to do? Just ditch them when they needed me the most? Jared, we’re coming back to life! Babies are hatching all the time, our home is finally being reconstructed and we’re doing alright for the first time in such a long time. I couldn’t just walk away. Not even for you.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t want you to,” Jared said honestly. “Your clan needed you and I’m glad you could be there for that. But after all this time I’ve moved on. It’s not the same between us as it once was.”
“I told you I was coming back.”
“I knew you wouldn’t. Some part of me knew it.”
“I’m back now!”
“The only reason you came is because Jeff asked you to.” Jared sat down on the side of his bed, unable to stand anymore, and hugged Ben to his chest.
The baby nuzzled and purred as if to comfort him.
“You didn’t come for me and let’s face it, if not for my brother you never would have set foot here.”
Their thighs pressed together as Jensen sat beside him, mattress dipping beneath their combined weight. “That’s not true. As soon as everything was okay I was going to come back.”
At Jared’s silence, Jensen worried his plump bottom lip between his teeth for a moment.
“You didn’t really move on,” he tried to state, but it came out more like an inquiry.
“Getting there,” Jared muttered, gaze transfixed on the floor. “Maybe, even after everything, our lives are just too different, Jensen. I don’t want you to abandon your clan, and I can’t leave my family. Despite the fact that I’m.. I’m..”
“Not aging?”
At Jared’s startled look, Jensen smiled slightly.
“Don’t look so surprised. There’s a reason that dragons barely ever survive when trying to bring someone back from the dead. In the act, a piece of their very being is implanted in whoever it is that they save and most dragons perish at the loss. Maybe I didn’t because you’re a human and thus needed less of my power. I don’t know. But because of it’s success you now have my lifespan. You’ll live as long as I do, which considering my young age you have at least one thousand and nine hundred years to go.”
“..WHAT?!”
Jensen laughed. “You squeaked!”
Jared sputtered. “I’m going to live that long?! But my family--”
“Will die out long before you do. I didn’t know it would happen, Jared. I swear. I just wanted to save you.”
Jared felt as thought he bottom had dropped out of his stomach. Even after noticing he hadn’t aged, he figured that he’d live a little longer than he was supposed to. But to still have over a thousand years left in his lifespan was like a shot to the heart. How was he supposed to deal with having to watch his whole family and all his friends die around him? How the hell was he supposed to move on with someone else? Anybody that Jared loved was going to grow old and perish while he himself stayed young for years to come.
All of a sudden he felt completely alone.
Jared hadn’t even realized he’d started to cry until Jensen’s arms came around him, careful of Ben, and started to whisper assurances and apologies into Jared’s ear.
“I’ll take care of you,” he swore. “We’re mates, Jared. Bonded until the day we die and I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
As Jensen’s lips touched his in a soft kiss, Jared started and pulled away. “No! No, I won’t go through that again.”
Ignoring the other man calling his name, Jared carried Ben and ran from the room.
<>***<>***<>***<>
Ben was releasing happy squeaks and squawks, sounding like a child’s bath toy as he splashed in the stream at the edge of the forest. Gerald had said that it used to be a lake that dried up years ago, but Jared wasn’t sure when or if that was even true.
But the dragon seemed to be enjoying it; playing water tag with one of the castle dogs, Harley, that had followed them out there when Jared had fled.
“Knew I’d find you here,” Misha said as he walked up, plopping down on the ground beside the prince.
“How long have I been gone?”
“Over an hour. And before you say or think anything about that male dragon of yours, he looked worried sick. It took some convincing before I could get him to stay put while I came to locate you.”
“He’s not mine.”
“No? Could have fooled me.”
Misha’s voice was way too cheerful, and Jared had the strong urge to sock him in the stomach. Instead he simply ignored him, watching Ben ride Harley’s back with his wings spread wide like he was going to catch some wind and send them both soaring.
“Look,” Misha said after a long stretch of silence, “there’s no real excuse for him to be gone as long as he was, I think we all know that. But did you ever think that maybe it killed him just as much as it did you?”
Jared snorted. “He wouldn’t even look at me, and didn’t want to talk until we were away from everyone else.”
“Jared think for a minute, will you? Even now dragons are still prosecuted and hated by humans, despite two treaties in the last few years. A relationship between one of them and one of us could cause more than a little trouble and with all those people around maybe he was just trying to--”
“Protect himself, I know.”
“No, idiot. Protect you.” Misha’s hand slapped his back a little harder than necessary and Jared was knocked forward a little. “You’re the one who is going to have to deal with the fallout with the village if people don’t approve. Not him.”
“Well maybe I don’t care what other people think.”
“Well maybe you should tell him that, instead of your knees.”
Jared raised his head and looked at his friend, his mind processing what he was telling him. “I..” he swallowed, “I really did want to love you.”
“You do love me,” Misha said confidently with a grin, “and I love you. But just as friends. We don’t need more than that.”
Jared smiled.
<>***<>***<>***<>
When they returned, Christian took Ben from Jared and tilted his head towards the castle with a knowing look on his face.
Jared patted the dragon’s shoulder before he walked into the building and up to his room.
Jensen was on the center of his bed, his face in his hands and as Jared stepped in and closed the door behind him, Jensen straightened. Upon seeing Jared, he scrambled off the bed and made to approach but stopped short as Jared raised his hand.
“How is this ever going to work?”
“Any way we can make it, Jared. Now that things are okay with my clan I can come more often. Every day if you’d like. And when.. When your family.. you know. Then you can come stay in Draconis. Jeffery Dean said you could.”
“Jensen,” Jared sighed softly, “I don’t belong--”
His words were cut off as Jensen broke the space between them and pressed their lips together, his hands bracketing Jared’s face.
“You belong anywhere I am.”
Jared smiled and kissed him again. “That works both ways, you know."
They moved to the bed and laid down on their sides facing each other. They didn’t talk, just stayed close with Jared’s hand resting on Jensen’s chest over his heart and Jensen stroking Jared’s back with slow, soothing movements.
Jared awoke sometime later to a dark room and Jensen ghosting light, slow kisses over his face. Sensing that Jared was awake, Jensen pressed their lips together.
Jared reached up and buried his fingers into the other man’s short hair, cupping the back of Jensen’s head as he parted his lips and their tongues tangled.
“Jared..” Jensen murmured against his lips, “missed this, missed you. S’been no one else.”
“No one?”
“No one. I told you already once before; you’re my human and I’m your dragon. Nothing has changed.”
Jared wrapped his arms around Jensen’s waist and rolled them so that the other man was beneath him. He sat up on Jensen’s thighs and pressed his hands to the mattress on either side of his head, hips rocking slow and steadily.
Jensen moaned, caressing Jared’s thighs as their erections slid against each other. One hand slid back and down, fingers sliding between the round globes of Jared’s ass.
Jared sighed in pleasure and leaned down. He brushed their lips together over and over, never quite touching enough to be a real kiss as their breath mixed together.
Jensen growled and lifted his head, catching Jared’s mouth as his fingertips pushed against the other man’s puckered entrance. His middle finger slipped inside up to the first knuckle and he shoved it back and forth, going deeper with each thrust as their tongues tangled together.
“Yeah..” Jared groaned. He rocked back against Jensen’s finger, then forward against his erection. “God yeah.”
“So damn tight inside, Jared,” Jensen purred. He took his hand back and stuck his fingers into his mouth, quickly wetting them before replacing his touch back at Jared’s ass.
As two slick fingers pushed deep inside of him, Jared threw his head back with a sharp cry. His hips moved frantically.
Jensen moved his mouth to Jared’s throat, biting at the flesh and adding warm swipes of his tongue to sooth the sting. He was satisfied to see that he’d left marks behind, the flesh becoming bruised and tender beneath his attention.
Feeling precome from Jared’s cock drip onto his stomach, Jensen surged up and rolled them onto their sides. He continued to work Jared’s ass, adding a third finger as he slid his mouth and teeth down his lover’s body.
Jared’s fingers carded through Jensen’s short, soft hair, his thumb brushing over the tendon in the side of his neck. He bent his knee, foot pressed against the bed to give Jensen’s hand better access to his hole and mewled as the his nipples were sucked. The flesh pebbled and hardened beneath the attention.
Jared’s hips continued to move, his dick swaying in front of his belly like a pendulum as liquid continued to pool at the tip. His own hand wrapped around Jensen’s dick, slowly jacking him in time with the fingers inside of his body.
Jensen groaned, his breath leaving his swollen, parted lips in hot pants against Jared’s skin.
Jared pulled away and shimmied down the bed, losing Jensen’s fingers. He stuck out his tongue, trailing the tip over the length of Jensen’s dick and was rewarded with a sharp gasp and fingers tugging at his hair.
Closing his eyes, he took Jensen’s cock slowly into his mouth until his nose brushed against the wiry curls at the base. The bulbous head pressed against the back of his throat; fighting the urge to gag he pulled back then slowly took him back in.
“Shit,” Jensen hissed, his fingers kneading Jared’s skull and the back of his neck. “Yes, Jared, suck me. So good.. come on.”
He dragged his head back and forth, sucking hard as he took Jensen in then swirled his tongue around his thick length as he withdrew. Jensen’s heady scent was all around him, drowning him in desire and heat. Jared’s hand moved down between his own legs, tugging his erection from root to tip with a twist of his hand.
Jensen’s thumb moved to rest over Jared’s cheek, feeling his dick sliding in and out just beneath. He groaned as his lover’s jaw worked - Jared slowly swallowing the bitter precome as it dripped onto his tongue.
Jensen pulled Jared off with a wet pop, a line of saliva connecting the head of his dick to Jared’s swollen and red lips.
Getting up onto his hands and knees, Jared spread his legs so that his erection hung down towards the bed and relaxed his neck so his head did the same. The bed dipped as Jensen moved to position himself behind him, and Jared’s back bowed as a loud moan escaped him.
Jensen pulled Jared’s ass apart, kneading the soft flesh as his tongue trailed down the revealed crevice between. He licked down to his thick, heavy balls then up again to his lower back.
“You taste so damn sweet,” he murmured, voice deep and husky with arousal.
Jared’s fingers tightened on the sheet below him, looking down beneath his legs to watch Jensen bend down. “Prove it.”
Jensen wrapped his lips around the slick entrance and sucked hard, then pushed his tongue inside passed the trembling skin.
“Uhn!” Jared closed his eyes tight, throwing his head back to pant up towards the ceiling.
He reached down to tug on his dick again, stroking one, two, three times then clamping down on the swollen base to keep from coming. When he was ready, he tugged again one, two, three times. Then held on tight.
Jensen timed the push of his tongue with Jared’s stroking, fucking him deep with it before sucking hard. Then doing it again.
He forced himself to pull away and shifted closer to the back of Jared’s thighs. Taking his dick in one hand, the other hand holding Jared’s hips still, Jensen eased himself into his lover with one slow push.
The two men moaned in unison. Jared could feel every inch of the firm erection sliding into him all the way up to his prostate.
“Oh shit!” Jared grunted. His arm shook with the effort to keep him leveled off the bed.
“Okay?” Jensen moved his touch to Jared’s flank, his fingers kneading the flesh as his hips rocked side to side.
“Yes.. Yes, more than. Fuck me fuck me fuck me.” Jared’s words came out in a rush; his wrist worked hard and fast on his own cock.
Jensen eased out almost all the way, leaving just the very tip of himself inside Jared’s body, then slammed forward as hard as he could.
The hard slap of flesh echoed around them and combined almost melodiously with the moans and cries and panting that was released from their parted lips.
Jensen kept his upper body still, his waist working overtime as he shoved his hips against Jared’s ass. The muscles in his arms flexed, fingers pushing bruises into Jared’s soft skin and narrow waist.
Jared pressed both hands back onto the bed then shoved up, leaning up on his knees and forcing Jensen to do the same behind him.
Jensen’s arms slid around Jared’s stomach, as Jared’s moved behind his head to wrap around Jensen’s neck. He twisted around to kiss the dragon hard and deep, tongues tangling eagerly together for a moment before the move became too much stress on Jared’s neck.
Jensen grabbed one of Jared’s hands, dragging it down his panting stomach. Their intertwined fingers wrapped around Jared’s cock, standing proud and thick in front of him like a flagpole.
Jared moaned and gasped, rocking back onto Jensen’s cock then forward into their hands.
Jensen mouthed at the side of Jared’s throat, slicking his tongue over the marks he’d made moments earlier in the desire to keep them dark and tender.
It wasn’t long before Jared was coming, thick spurts of his white, ropey come splattering onto the bed and dribbling through their fingers.
His body tightening instinctively and Jensen groaned, thrusting hard enough to send them forward onto the bed. Jared’s name left his lips as he came inside of his lover, soaking the used passage with his semen.
Jensen pulled all the way out then pushed back in, shoving the white cream further inside Jared’s body.
When his oversensitive dick ached from the stimulation, he pulled out and flopped boneless to the bed.
Jared scrunched up his nose at the cold spot beneath his belly and shoved closer to Jensen, wrapping an arm around the dragon’s waist as he shoved his head beneath his chin.
Jensen’s fingers trailed lazily over Jared’s back and shoulder. The two of them listened to each other’s breathing, not saying a word as their flushed and sweaty skin cooled them down.
Just when he had started to succumb to slumber, his mind and body relaxed and sated, Jensen was dragged back by Jared’s cheerful voice.
“Hey, you ever tried Pine Nut Candy?”
END
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Chapter Rating: NC-17
Summary: Jared's a prince who always does what's expected of him, even as he dreams of following his heart. When his father signs an allegiance with a dragon clan and he meets Jensen, everything changes.
Disclaimer: Neither of these beautiful men are mine. I just play with them sometimes.
Author's Notes: I'm sad to see this story end, but I do plan on making another dragon story as soon as I catch up with some of my others. ;) Thanks to everyone who stuck with me!
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine
(Awesome banner made for me by the talented Mystik-Ivanow)
Jared jumped in surprise as a hand landed on his shoulder and turned to face an amused grin.
“Spying on the princess’s date, highness?” the dark-haired man asked mischievously. “I’m shocked.”
Jared smiled sheepishly. “I’m just doing my brotherly duty, Sir Collins.”
Misha laughed and squeezed Jared’s shoulder, keeping his touch there as both their attention turned back to Megan and her suitor. The young couple-to-be was strolling through the blossoming garden, carefully avoiding the patches of dirt where the grass had refused to grow back after being smashed by boulders and toasted with fire.
Even after five years, some scars just couldn’t heal.
Megan blushed as her suitor took her hand and lifted it to his lips to kiss her fingers. As described in his older brother duties, Jared wanted to barge in and break them apart but Misha’s hand kept him grounded.
He’d just give her suitor, a young man named Thomas Dekker, the standard “you hurt my sister and I’ll kick your ass” threat later.
Jared stood up from where he’d been crouched behind a bush as the couple moved out of sight, and turned to face his companion.
“You don’t think that was creepy, do you?”
“What, you hiding in the hedge?” Misha grinned at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Not at all. I’m an older brother too, I know how it goes.”
“So if something happens you’ll help me hide the body, then?”
“I’ll even give you a solid alibi.”
They walked together to the courtyard, watching people weave around each other as they set up for the annual festival. Ever since the brief but destructive war with the dragons, Jeff had changed the yearly ball into an outdoor celebration that everyone, from the castle and village alike, were allowed to attend.
Genevieve looked especially excited, tying ribbons to the large pole at the middle of the yard. She and Samantha were like mother and daughter now; Jared figured something maternally bonding must have happened between them as or after they’d escaped the castle during the dragon attack.
He was just glad to see they’d both survived, as many guests and staff had not been so lucky; either crushed by falling stones or by the horrific fires that had broken out.
Breathing in deeply the scents of delicious foods that wafted out the open kitchen window, Jared smiled as he thought of the festival. He loved listening to the music and the children’s laughter as they ran around with the ribbons and toys. He liked the dancing and drinking and eating. It was less stuffy than the ballroom dances he’d suffered through growing up.
Everyone could dress as they liked instead of having to look like perfect dolls.
It was also easier to forget about certain things during the festivities. Such as the fact that while the rest of his family grew older as humans were supposed to, Jared remained physically unchanged.
It was also easier to forget the fact that for the last five years, Jensen had not returned.
Countless hours were spent on the balcony outside his bedroom, day and night, as he desperately listened for the sound of wings and watching for anything in the sky.
All the while pretending not to notice his family’s concerned looks as he appreciated the fact that they never tried to talk him out of his vigils. After everything that had happened, they knew how important Jensen was to him.
Now he couldn’t help but wonder, even after Jensen had saved his life, if his feelings had fallen one-sided over time. Jared hated himself for thinking that way, especially since he had no way of knowing if something had happened to the dragon clan. All he had to go by was a strong feeling inside of him that told him that they were doing alright.
Maybe Jensen had decided that Danneel would make a good mate after all and that a relationship with a human was just too complicated.
After all they’d been through, Jared didn’t want to believe that but as much as he tried he couldn’t come up with any other explanation.
As time wore on, he spent less hours on his balcony and more time with his family as they helped rebuild the castle and village, buried the dead, and celebrated new life.
Like the birth of his nephew and the future king, Tobias Padalecki.
The birthing had been hard on Sandy, and Jared remembered how he, his father and brother had waited outside Jeff’s bedroom door with bated breath as the women of the family along with one of the kingdom’s midwives helped her through her screams and cries.
Jared had jumped every time Sandy’s pained voice pierced through the heavy wood of the door, mentally thanking God again and again that he would never have to suffer the pain of bringing an infant into the world because it sounded like his childhood friend was being ripped apart.
At the first sound of a baby’s crying, the three men had leapt to their feet and almost fell over each other in the haste to see.
Tobias (or Toby) Padalecki was born healthy and beautiful with all ten fingers and toes, and now at three years old was a real handful. He had the patented Padalecki energy and contained the power to drive someone crazy one minute then instantly calm them down with a dimpled smile the next.
“Your nephew’s going to run himself right into a nap this year,” Misha spoke Jared’s thoughts amusedly.
He could still remember well the day he’d met Misha Collins. He’d come from a neighboring kingdom to join Jeff’s knights almost two and a half years prior and instantly they found a platonic bond. Misha was worldly and handsome and kind and funny, and Jared desperately wished that he could fall in love with him instead.
“Would you like to go to the festival with me?” Jared asked, startling both of them. He didn’t know where the question had come from but he knew he didn’t want to take it back.
“You mean as an official date?”
Jared nodded, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
Five years was an awfully long time; perhaps he should think about moving on and finding happiness with someone else.
Someone like Misha.
His friend studied him for a moment. Misha knew all about what had happened with Jensen. Finally he smiled a little, though his expression was still unsure. “I think that would be okay.”
Jared’s face lit up in a large grin. “Great!”
<>***<>***<>***<>
“You really should be resting,” Jeff pointed out as he sat down beside Sandy at one of the tables.
Her eyes rolled as she dragged a hand over her swollen belly. “Honey, really. This is my second pregnancy, I don’t need as much rest. Besides the whole family gets to be here and I want to be, too. I want to see Toby playing with the other children.”
Jeff sighed but nodded. He knew better than to argue. Loud, boisterous laughter caught his attention and immediately his eyes sought out his little brother.
For a while the family been worried that the prince would never smile again, having fallen into a deep depression after it became obvious Jensen wasn’t in a hurry to return.
As much as Jeff had come to understand and respect the dragons, the protective older brother in him was angry that Jensen had hurt his sibling like that. Intentional or no. But his rational side told him that perhaps Jensen was simply unable to return, and Jeff desperately hoped that was the reason although he wanted nothing to be terribly wrong with the dragons. The whole thing was confusing.
But Jensen’s reaction to Jared’s death was proof enough of how much he cared. So there had to be a logical explanation.
Jared’s smile had returned when he’d met Misha, and so the knight had a special place in Jeff’s court. Anyone who could cheer his brother up deserved recognition in the king’s eyes.
“He seems so happy, doesn’t he?” Sandy remarked, watching Misha chase a giggling Jared in a circle around Megan and Thomas Dekker.
“Get him, Misha!” Megan and Thomas cheered the knight on in between their laughter.
“Traitors--!” Jared accusation broke off in a startled, mouse-like squeak as he was knocked to the ground.
The two men wrestled, ignoring the spectacle they were making for those around them who had stopped to watch.
“Give it!” Misha growled, sitting on Jared’s hips as he tried in vain to catch the prince’s flailing hands.
“No! It’s mine!”
“Missouri gave it to me, Jared!”
“But I like it!”
“All that fuss over a piece of candy,” Gerald said, sounding confused.
“Pine Nut Candy is Missouri’s specialty, darling,” Sharon patted his arm. “Besides you know how our Jared is with treats.”
“Good thing the boy has my genes or else he’d be as fat as a favored donkey.”
“So that would make him an ass?” Jeff asked innocently, then grunted as Sandy elbowed him in the stomach.
A strong gust of wind blew over them, sending ribbons and cloth napkins flying while messing hairdos as two large shapes descended from the sky.
Jared and Misha quickly rose to their feet, Misha popping the rescued sweet into his mouth as two dragons landed on the edge of the festival grounds.
Jeff immediately walked over with his parents to greet the new guests as the creatures transformed into their human bodies, a small green dragon cradled in Jensen’s arms.
“I was hoping you’d come.”
Chris tilted his head in greeting. “We only recently received your message. Jeffrey Dean sends his regards for his lack of attendance but he’s taking care of clan business.”
“Of course,” the king replied with a smile. “I understand. The festival is still in full swing so why don’t you join us, and when it’s over we’ll retire to the throne room and discuss the treaty.”
“Jeff?” Jared wandered over with Misha. His eyes flicked between the three dragons then back to this brother. “What’s this about?”
“We’re trying again to gain peace between us and the dragon clan, Jared,” the older Padalecki male told him patiently. “So I sent word to the dragons over a fortnight ago.”
“Messages, especially from humans, are still hard to receive in Draconis,” Jensen said. “Despite all the progress made so far.”
“I’m hoping to change that.”
“As are we.”
Jensen wouldn’t even look at Jared, his eyes trained solely on Jeff. Swallowing back bitter disappointment, Jared turned and walked away trying to ignore the weight of several sets of eyes on his back.
Not even paying attention to where he was going, Jared wasn’t surprised when his feet brought him to the balcony of his bedroom. He sat down on the bench his father had the castle staff place there once Jared had started his nightly vigils and closed his eyes to listen to the sounds of the festival.
His eyes snapped open again not long later as the green baby dragon climbed onto his lap, releasing happy little chirps like a bird.
Jared glided his fingers over the scales and wings, noting that the baby had not grown much since it’s hatching. But remembering Jensen’s look versus his age, he knew that dragons grew much slower than humans. Still, Jared could clearly feel the strong muscles beneath the baby’s skin and in it’s wings.
“His name is Ben,” Jensen said, casually leaning his shoulder against the frame of the open doors. “Meant to tell you that.”
Jared nodded but otherwise ignored Jensen, his eyes remaining trained on the baby.
“He missed you. When Chris and I left to come here he followed, but his wings aren’t quite strong enough for the long journey so I had to carry him.”
“I missed him, too.”
“Jared--”
“What’re you doing here, Jensen?”
The older brunet blinked at him, having the audacity to look surprised by the question. “Your brother invited us to--”
“No. I mean what are you doing here, in my bedroom? If Ben wanted to see me Chris could have brought him up.”
“I wanted to see you.”
Jared snorted. “Liar.”
Jensen straightened and moved like he was going to walk onto the balcony, but Jared hastily stood and shoved passed him.
“I don’t want you here.”
“You don’t mean that.” Jensen caught Jared’s arm, holding on tight as he tried to pull away. “What’s wrong with you? I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Jared demanded, his cheeks reddening as he glared daggers at his exlover. “You honestly think I’d be happy to see you after five damn years? Five years and waiting and worrying and pain and hurt and disappointment and anxiety. What did you expect me to do, Jensen? Fall to my knees and kiss your hand? Roll onto my back for you and spread my legs?”
Jensen shook his head, finally releasing Jared after the younger man continued to pull. “No! You don’t understand. I wanted to come back, but my clan had to put our lives back together and I was needed. What did you expect me to do? Just ditch them when they needed me the most? Jared, we’re coming back to life! Babies are hatching all the time, our home is finally being reconstructed and we’re doing alright for the first time in such a long time. I couldn’t just walk away. Not even for you.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t want you to,” Jared said honestly. “Your clan needed you and I’m glad you could be there for that. But after all this time I’ve moved on. It’s not the same between us as it once was.”
“I told you I was coming back.”
“I knew you wouldn’t. Some part of me knew it.”
“I’m back now!”
“The only reason you came is because Jeff asked you to.” Jared sat down on the side of his bed, unable to stand anymore, and hugged Ben to his chest.
The baby nuzzled and purred as if to comfort him.
“You didn’t come for me and let’s face it, if not for my brother you never would have set foot here.”
Their thighs pressed together as Jensen sat beside him, mattress dipping beneath their combined weight. “That’s not true. As soon as everything was okay I was going to come back.”
At Jared’s silence, Jensen worried his plump bottom lip between his teeth for a moment.
“You didn’t really move on,” he tried to state, but it came out more like an inquiry.
“Getting there,” Jared muttered, gaze transfixed on the floor. “Maybe, even after everything, our lives are just too different, Jensen. I don’t want you to abandon your clan, and I can’t leave my family. Despite the fact that I’m.. I’m..”
“Not aging?”
At Jared’s startled look, Jensen smiled slightly.
“Don’t look so surprised. There’s a reason that dragons barely ever survive when trying to bring someone back from the dead. In the act, a piece of their very being is implanted in whoever it is that they save and most dragons perish at the loss. Maybe I didn’t because you’re a human and thus needed less of my power. I don’t know. But because of it’s success you now have my lifespan. You’ll live as long as I do, which considering my young age you have at least one thousand and nine hundred years to go.”
“..WHAT?!”
Jensen laughed. “You squeaked!”
Jared sputtered. “I’m going to live that long?! But my family--”
“Will die out long before you do. I didn’t know it would happen, Jared. I swear. I just wanted to save you.”
Jared felt as thought he bottom had dropped out of his stomach. Even after noticing he hadn’t aged, he figured that he’d live a little longer than he was supposed to. But to still have over a thousand years left in his lifespan was like a shot to the heart. How was he supposed to deal with having to watch his whole family and all his friends die around him? How the hell was he supposed to move on with someone else? Anybody that Jared loved was going to grow old and perish while he himself stayed young for years to come.
All of a sudden he felt completely alone.
Jared hadn’t even realized he’d started to cry until Jensen’s arms came around him, careful of Ben, and started to whisper assurances and apologies into Jared’s ear.
“I’ll take care of you,” he swore. “We’re mates, Jared. Bonded until the day we die and I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
As Jensen’s lips touched his in a soft kiss, Jared started and pulled away. “No! No, I won’t go through that again.”
Ignoring the other man calling his name, Jared carried Ben and ran from the room.
<>***<>***<>***<>
Ben was releasing happy squeaks and squawks, sounding like a child’s bath toy as he splashed in the stream at the edge of the forest. Gerald had said that it used to be a lake that dried up years ago, but Jared wasn’t sure when or if that was even true.
But the dragon seemed to be enjoying it; playing water tag with one of the castle dogs, Harley, that had followed them out there when Jared had fled.
“Knew I’d find you here,” Misha said as he walked up, plopping down on the ground beside the prince.
“How long have I been gone?”
“Over an hour. And before you say or think anything about that male dragon of yours, he looked worried sick. It took some convincing before I could get him to stay put while I came to locate you.”
“He’s not mine.”
“No? Could have fooled me.”
Misha’s voice was way too cheerful, and Jared had the strong urge to sock him in the stomach. Instead he simply ignored him, watching Ben ride Harley’s back with his wings spread wide like he was going to catch some wind and send them both soaring.
“Look,” Misha said after a long stretch of silence, “there’s no real excuse for him to be gone as long as he was, I think we all know that. But did you ever think that maybe it killed him just as much as it did you?”
Jared snorted. “He wouldn’t even look at me, and didn’t want to talk until we were away from everyone else.”
“Jared think for a minute, will you? Even now dragons are still prosecuted and hated by humans, despite two treaties in the last few years. A relationship between one of them and one of us could cause more than a little trouble and with all those people around maybe he was just trying to--”
“Protect himself, I know.”
“No, idiot. Protect you.” Misha’s hand slapped his back a little harder than necessary and Jared was knocked forward a little. “You’re the one who is going to have to deal with the fallout with the village if people don’t approve. Not him.”
“Well maybe I don’t care what other people think.”
“Well maybe you should tell him that, instead of your knees.”
Jared raised his head and looked at his friend, his mind processing what he was telling him. “I..” he swallowed, “I really did want to love you.”
“You do love me,” Misha said confidently with a grin, “and I love you. But just as friends. We don’t need more than that.”
Jared smiled.
<>***<>***<>***<>
When they returned, Christian took Ben from Jared and tilted his head towards the castle with a knowing look on his face.
Jared patted the dragon’s shoulder before he walked into the building and up to his room.
Jensen was on the center of his bed, his face in his hands and as Jared stepped in and closed the door behind him, Jensen straightened. Upon seeing Jared, he scrambled off the bed and made to approach but stopped short as Jared raised his hand.
“How is this ever going to work?”
“Any way we can make it, Jared. Now that things are okay with my clan I can come more often. Every day if you’d like. And when.. When your family.. you know. Then you can come stay in Draconis. Jeffery Dean said you could.”
“Jensen,” Jared sighed softly, “I don’t belong--”
His words were cut off as Jensen broke the space between them and pressed their lips together, his hands bracketing Jared’s face.
“You belong anywhere I am.”
Jared smiled and kissed him again. “That works both ways, you know."
They moved to the bed and laid down on their sides facing each other. They didn’t talk, just stayed close with Jared’s hand resting on Jensen’s chest over his heart and Jensen stroking Jared’s back with slow, soothing movements.
Jared awoke sometime later to a dark room and Jensen ghosting light, slow kisses over his face. Sensing that Jared was awake, Jensen pressed their lips together.
Jared reached up and buried his fingers into the other man’s short hair, cupping the back of Jensen’s head as he parted his lips and their tongues tangled.
“Jared..” Jensen murmured against his lips, “missed this, missed you. S’been no one else.”
“No one?”
“No one. I told you already once before; you’re my human and I’m your dragon. Nothing has changed.”
Jared wrapped his arms around Jensen’s waist and rolled them so that the other man was beneath him. He sat up on Jensen’s thighs and pressed his hands to the mattress on either side of his head, hips rocking slow and steadily.
Jensen moaned, caressing Jared’s thighs as their erections slid against each other. One hand slid back and down, fingers sliding between the round globes of Jared’s ass.
Jared sighed in pleasure and leaned down. He brushed their lips together over and over, never quite touching enough to be a real kiss as their breath mixed together.
Jensen growled and lifted his head, catching Jared’s mouth as his fingertips pushed against the other man’s puckered entrance. His middle finger slipped inside up to the first knuckle and he shoved it back and forth, going deeper with each thrust as their tongues tangled together.
“Yeah..” Jared groaned. He rocked back against Jensen’s finger, then forward against his erection. “God yeah.”
“So damn tight inside, Jared,” Jensen purred. He took his hand back and stuck his fingers into his mouth, quickly wetting them before replacing his touch back at Jared’s ass.
As two slick fingers pushed deep inside of him, Jared threw his head back with a sharp cry. His hips moved frantically.
Jensen moved his mouth to Jared’s throat, biting at the flesh and adding warm swipes of his tongue to sooth the sting. He was satisfied to see that he’d left marks behind, the flesh becoming bruised and tender beneath his attention.
Feeling precome from Jared’s cock drip onto his stomach, Jensen surged up and rolled them onto their sides. He continued to work Jared’s ass, adding a third finger as he slid his mouth and teeth down his lover’s body.
Jared’s fingers carded through Jensen’s short, soft hair, his thumb brushing over the tendon in the side of his neck. He bent his knee, foot pressed against the bed to give Jensen’s hand better access to his hole and mewled as the his nipples were sucked. The flesh pebbled and hardened beneath the attention.
Jared’s hips continued to move, his dick swaying in front of his belly like a pendulum as liquid continued to pool at the tip. His own hand wrapped around Jensen’s dick, slowly jacking him in time with the fingers inside of his body.
Jensen groaned, his breath leaving his swollen, parted lips in hot pants against Jared’s skin.
Jared pulled away and shimmied down the bed, losing Jensen’s fingers. He stuck out his tongue, trailing the tip over the length of Jensen’s dick and was rewarded with a sharp gasp and fingers tugging at his hair.
Closing his eyes, he took Jensen’s cock slowly into his mouth until his nose brushed against the wiry curls at the base. The bulbous head pressed against the back of his throat; fighting the urge to gag he pulled back then slowly took him back in.
“Shit,” Jensen hissed, his fingers kneading Jared’s skull and the back of his neck. “Yes, Jared, suck me. So good.. come on.”
He dragged his head back and forth, sucking hard as he took Jensen in then swirled his tongue around his thick length as he withdrew. Jensen’s heady scent was all around him, drowning him in desire and heat. Jared’s hand moved down between his own legs, tugging his erection from root to tip with a twist of his hand.
Jensen’s thumb moved to rest over Jared’s cheek, feeling his dick sliding in and out just beneath. He groaned as his lover’s jaw worked - Jared slowly swallowing the bitter precome as it dripped onto his tongue.
Jensen pulled Jared off with a wet pop, a line of saliva connecting the head of his dick to Jared’s swollen and red lips.
Getting up onto his hands and knees, Jared spread his legs so that his erection hung down towards the bed and relaxed his neck so his head did the same. The bed dipped as Jensen moved to position himself behind him, and Jared’s back bowed as a loud moan escaped him.
Jensen pulled Jared’s ass apart, kneading the soft flesh as his tongue trailed down the revealed crevice between. He licked down to his thick, heavy balls then up again to his lower back.
“You taste so damn sweet,” he murmured, voice deep and husky with arousal.
Jared’s fingers tightened on the sheet below him, looking down beneath his legs to watch Jensen bend down. “Prove it.”
Jensen wrapped his lips around the slick entrance and sucked hard, then pushed his tongue inside passed the trembling skin.
“Uhn!” Jared closed his eyes tight, throwing his head back to pant up towards the ceiling.
He reached down to tug on his dick again, stroking one, two, three times then clamping down on the swollen base to keep from coming. When he was ready, he tugged again one, two, three times. Then held on tight.
Jensen timed the push of his tongue with Jared’s stroking, fucking him deep with it before sucking hard. Then doing it again.
He forced himself to pull away and shifted closer to the back of Jared’s thighs. Taking his dick in one hand, the other hand holding Jared’s hips still, Jensen eased himself into his lover with one slow push.
The two men moaned in unison. Jared could feel every inch of the firm erection sliding into him all the way up to his prostate.
“Oh shit!” Jared grunted. His arm shook with the effort to keep him leveled off the bed.
“Okay?” Jensen moved his touch to Jared’s flank, his fingers kneading the flesh as his hips rocked side to side.
“Yes.. Yes, more than. Fuck me fuck me fuck me.” Jared’s words came out in a rush; his wrist worked hard and fast on his own cock.
Jensen eased out almost all the way, leaving just the very tip of himself inside Jared’s body, then slammed forward as hard as he could.
The hard slap of flesh echoed around them and combined almost melodiously with the moans and cries and panting that was released from their parted lips.
Jensen kept his upper body still, his waist working overtime as he shoved his hips against Jared’s ass. The muscles in his arms flexed, fingers pushing bruises into Jared’s soft skin and narrow waist.
Jared pressed both hands back onto the bed then shoved up, leaning up on his knees and forcing Jensen to do the same behind him.
Jensen’s arms slid around Jared’s stomach, as Jared’s moved behind his head to wrap around Jensen’s neck. He twisted around to kiss the dragon hard and deep, tongues tangling eagerly together for a moment before the move became too much stress on Jared’s neck.
Jensen grabbed one of Jared’s hands, dragging it down his panting stomach. Their intertwined fingers wrapped around Jared’s cock, standing proud and thick in front of him like a flagpole.
Jared moaned and gasped, rocking back onto Jensen’s cock then forward into their hands.
Jensen mouthed at the side of Jared’s throat, slicking his tongue over the marks he’d made moments earlier in the desire to keep them dark and tender.
It wasn’t long before Jared was coming, thick spurts of his white, ropey come splattering onto the bed and dribbling through their fingers.
His body tightening instinctively and Jensen groaned, thrusting hard enough to send them forward onto the bed. Jared’s name left his lips as he came inside of his lover, soaking the used passage with his semen.
Jensen pulled all the way out then pushed back in, shoving the white cream further inside Jared’s body.
When his oversensitive dick ached from the stimulation, he pulled out and flopped boneless to the bed.
Jared scrunched up his nose at the cold spot beneath his belly and shoved closer to Jensen, wrapping an arm around the dragon’s waist as he shoved his head beneath his chin.
Jensen’s fingers trailed lazily over Jared’s back and shoulder. The two of them listened to each other’s breathing, not saying a word as their flushed and sweaty skin cooled them down.
Just when he had started to succumb to slumber, his mind and body relaxed and sated, Jensen was dragged back by Jared’s cheerful voice.
“Hey, you ever tried Pine Nut Candy?”
END